


Erised

by whitecrossgirl



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 17:35:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20474915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitecrossgirl/pseuds/whitecrossgirl
Summary: On the run from Frey, Jaime bumps into Brienne and whilst taking refuge in a disused classroom the two of them stumble across a mysterious mirror.





	Erised

Jaime could hear the wheezing threats of the ancient caretaker as he ran down the dimly lit corridor. Most of the candles had gone out and lighting his wand would give away his position. He had had the sense to cast a Muffling Charm on his feet so he could walk without making noise but he was yet to master the Disillusionment Charm which meant he had had to run when he rounded the corner and was spotted by old, wizened Mr Frey. Jaime hadn’t meant to stay out so late, he had been practicing in secret on the Quidditch pitch; training and strengthening his left hand. Everyone thought he would have left the Gryffindor Quidditch team after the accident that had resulted in the loss of his right hand, how could he catch and throw the Quaffle and keep control of his broom with only one hand? However Jaime had worked hard to earn his reputation as the best Quidditch player and he aimed to keep it. 

“Place to hide, place to hide,” Jaime muttered to himself as he flung aside a tapestry, revealing a passage and a staircase. It took him out somewhere down around the dungeons. Not the ones by the Slytherin Common Room or the Potions department. He didn’t know where he was but he was certain he was far from Frey. Mentally planning his route back to Gryffindor Tower, Jaime rounded a corner and crashed into Brienne, sending both of them to the floor with a loud crash and yell.

“Jaime?! What the hell?!” Brienne demanded as Jaime shushed her. Brienne glared at him but the sound of running footsteps made them jump to their feet.

“I’ve got ya this time Lannister! I’ll hang you by your ankles!” Frey threatened as Brienne grabbed his arm and pulled Jaime towards a doorway.

“In here,” Brienne whispered, unlocking it with a muttered Alohomora. The pair rushed inside and Brienne silently shut the door again, pressing her ear against it to wait until it was quiet and the footsteps faded away. “What are you doing out so late?”

“Quidditch practice,” Jaime replied. “Why are you out of bed? You never break any rules.”

“I was covering Prefect Duty for Jorah, he’s in the Hospital Wing. Got a bad bite from a Venomous Tentacula in Herbology.” Brienne answered, her ear still pressed to the door. “I think he’s gone.”

“Give it a bit more time,” Jaime advised. “He always lurks when he thinks that he’s got you trapped.”

“You would know that,” Brienne retorted, brushing a speck of dust from the badger emblazoned on her robes. Jaime smiled to himself; Brienne was the literal embodiment of a Hufflepuff; honest, hardworking, determined and a loyal friend. They had become friends since an incident in their First Year involving a dare into the Forbidden Forest, the Acromantula that lived there and a Bat Bogey Hex. Brienne was the only one who knew that Jaime had chosen to be in Gryffindor. Almost all of his whole family had been in Slytherin, including his twin sister Cersei. Despite their family crest being a golden lion on a scarlet background; his family had always taught them that Gryffindors were arrogant, reckless idiots who were not worthy of their time. To Tywin, the only other acceptable house would be Ravenclaw; solely because Joanna had been a Ravenclaw in her time at Hogwarts. Jaime had seen it as a chance to be something more than his family name, to be his own person; more than Tywin’s son, Cersei’s twin, Tyrion’s brother. He wanted to just be Jaime, so that’s what he was.

Just Jaime.

“What can I say; we’re brave, daring and break all the rules.” Jaime quipped as he lit his wand. “I wonder why this room is locked.”

“I heard Tormund hid his three-headed dog somewhere in the school.” Brienne replied and Jaime laughed.

“Come on Brienne, if Tormund had a three headed dog, he’d be taking it everywhere with him.” Jaime said as he looked around the room. It looked like one of the several unused classrooms in the school; tables and chairs were pushed against the wall. There were boxes labelled with different and ancient potions equipment, outdated Defence Against The Dark Arts books, a shaking box labelled The Monster Book of Monsters. A twinkling out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and Jaime turned his wand towards the source.

A mirror was standing against the far wall. It was taller than both of them, it’s ornate and furnished golden frame seemed to be tarnished and faded with age. The frame was dusty but somehow, there glass was spotlessly clean. Across the arched curve at the top of the mirror was something written but neither of them could understand what it said.

“Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi,” Jaime read aloud, stumbling over the pronunciation of nonsense words. “Do you think it’s written in Old Valyrian or something?”

“I’m not sure,” Brienne replied; she got an eerie feeling from the mirror. It had to be a powerful or dangerous object to be hidden and locked away in a dungeon that no one had been in for a long time. There were enough day to day risks at Hogwarts without looking for more. “Jaime, we should go. We shouldn’t be here.”

“You let us in.” Jaime countered as he examined the words again but not finding any more sense from them. Instead he glanced at his reflection. Initially his reflection looked identical to his own. Until he spotted it. The only difference between his reflection and himself.

His reflection had two hands.

“Jaime?” Brienne prompted as Jaime stepped closer to the mirror. Another shape was appearing beside his reflected self. Tall, blonde with sapphire blue eyes and dressed in Hufflepuff robes. Brienne. He could see Brienne in the mirror.

“I see something.” Jaime said and Brienne shook her head. Jaime looked at the frame again, this time the first word caught his focus. Erised. A vague recollection of Tyrion mentioning a mirror named Erised stirred in his memory.

“Probably your reflection. It’s a mirror after all.” Brienne countered. “Jaime, we need to go.”

“Not yet,” Jaime argued as the Brienne in the mirror took his right hand in hers. His mirror self smiled at her and pulled her into his arms. His suspicion was correct. This was it. This was the mirror Tyrion had talked about. “It’s the Mirror of Erised!”

“The what?” Brienne asked, her rush to leave now compounded by her curiosity. She had never heard of such a thing before.

“The Mirror of Erised! A famous mirror! Legend has it that it shows the person who looks in it-“ Jaime trailed off as he looked into the mirror again. Mirror Jaime and Mirror Brienne were kissing and he felt his heart ache at the sight; a feeling of longing he had never felt before.

“Shows them what?” Brienne prompted, now curious about what Jaime could see in the mirror to have him looking so captivated and unable to look away.

“It, it shows them what they want most in the world. Their heart’s desire.” Jaime finished, a slight blush creeping across his cheeks as he looked at the smile on his reflection’s face. He looked so happy, so carefree, so, so in love!

“Erised, it’s ‘desire’ spelled backwards.” Brienne realised, stepping forward and studying the text. “It’s all written backwards and the spacing of the letters are wrong.”

Jaime held up his wand and together they read what the mirror’s message really said. “I show not your face but your hearts desire.”

For a few moments they stood in silence, basking in the moment of having discovering a rare and powerful magical object. It was the sound of a distant door slamming that brought them back to reality. How long they had been in the room, they didn’t know. But it was time to go.

“Let’s go!” Brienne said as she walked over and took Jaime’s arm, tugging him away from the mirror. As she did, Brienne looked in the mirror and saw Jaime’s expression looking back at her. He was wearing a cheeky grin and his emerald eyes were glinting with happiness. Yet when she turned her head to check, Jaime was now looking at the floor, rubbing his eyes with his left hand. Why did she see him in the mirror, not herself? What did that say about her heart’s desire? What was Jaime’s? What had captivated him so?

“That mirror is incredible.” Jaime said as they left the dungeon, locking the door behind themselves.

“I don’t think so, powerful yes. But I don’t think we should go to it again.” Brienne advised, leading him down the corridor, eyes and ears strained for any sound or sign of Frey.

“But-“ Jaime protested before Brienne tightened her grip on his hand. She was still holding his hand. Jaime squeezed it back and missed it’s warmth as she let go.

“There’s something weird about that mirror. I think it’s been locked away for a reason. We can’t go back there. Promise me Jaime,” Brienne said as they walked back towards the Entrance Hall.

“I promise,” Jaime replied. He would keep that promise, he wouldn’t go looking for the Mirror again. Part of Tyrion’s story about the Mirror of Erised spoke of how many powerful wizards and witches had faded away in front of the mirror; so caught up in the dreams and longing for their heart’s desire that they forgot the world they lived in. As Jaime watched Brienne disappear towards the Hufflepuff dormitories; he felt a renewed sense of determination as he made his way back to Gryffindor Tower.

He had promised that he wouldn’t go to see the mirror again.

But he hadn’t promised that he wouldn’t try to make what he had seen a reality.


End file.
